The British were reported to have obtained a firm grip on the bottom of Narvik and the Germans were already said to be falling back after driving Norwegian forces over the Rombak Heights yesterday. A major clash may be necessary to eject the Germans from Rombak Heights, but the real battle of Narvik can be regarded as already ended.
It has been a costly week for all sides, In the battle which converted Narvik from a key iron ore port to a strategic military spot, hundreds were killed and wounded on land, while over 1,000 Germans, Norwegians and British died in naval engagements. A review of the events of the nine days of fighting in the Narvik area shows that men of all sides have fought with great bravery and determination.
One highlight of the naval engagements was that the British warships sank their own merchantmen to prevent the Germans from taking possession of them while the Germans exploded their own warships to prevent them from falling into British bands.
Latest developments in the Narvik sector consisted of the success of the German detachment which reached the Swedish frontier after days of fighting and privation, the storming of Rombak Heights by the Germans in an effort to dislodge the Norwegian and the fighting between British and German forces in the streets of Narvik.
The rest of the story is yet to be told, The British and Norwegian forces may try and recapture Rombak Heights or may simply hold Narvik and starve the Germans. The Germans may break through either to the north or south but if they succeed in such tactics they will have to face the enemy in bleak arctic country without resources—United Press,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.